


Tales of the Magic Initiate: Keeper of the Flame

by Frogman128



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Fire Magic, Gen, Low Magic, Magic, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:20:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25621234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frogman128/pseuds/Frogman128
Summary: Tukku would have much rather stayed at his comfortable hut during the blizzard, but life had other plans in store.Short DnD based story, set in a low magic world where magic rarely manifests, usually in the form of the Magic Initiate feat, or even just a cantrip or two.
Kudos: 2





	Tales of the Magic Initiate: Keeper of the Flame

** Tales of the Magic Initiate: Keeper of the Flame **

Tukku ran, his lungs pleading for copious amounts of comfort and rest.

The blizzard howled in mocking response, covering the tundra in a blur of icy death.

Not a soul in the land would have been brave or foolish enough to try to dare the storm of snow and darkness, at least none that still lived.

Tukku was neither brave nor foolish, or even a holder of a death wish for that matter.

He would much rather be back at his comfortable hut, away from all danger, fully snuggled up in a bear skin, caressed by the intoxicating warmth of the fire…

But his sister had other plans.

Had it not been for his skittish, light-sleeping nature, he would have never woken up just in time to catch sight of his elder sister, fully clad in hunting gear, as she left the hut in almost perfect secrecy.

With his father out leading the tribe’s yearly solstice ritual, no one else was there to ask for help, no one to pass on the weight of his troubles as usual, and how did he despise it, almost as much as his legs did the unforeseen marathon.

Tukku grumbled inwardly, feeling the cold creep into his bones with every step he gave.

He never understood why his sister had made such a fuss from failing the hunting rite of passage, he had never excelled in any of his tribe’s ways besides that of enjoying feasts, what was there to make a fuss about?

Certainly not enough of a reason to run out into the night during a blizzard, that’s for sure.

Suddenly, something grabbed him by his fur coat and swiftly pulled him behind a mound of snow.

Tukku’s scream was as short lived as his stamina, for a hand instantly covered his mouth.

“ _Shut. Up._ ”

Tukku’s muffled shouts of fear immediately became those of complaint.

“I said, _keep quiet_ ,” Uki, his elder sister, seethed through closed teeth, shooting Tukku a glare strong enough to cease his blabbering. If only a by a bit.

“We have to go back, I can’t have you dying out here,” Tukku whispered as soon as Uki let go of his mouth.

“Go back to the hut, you’re making too much of a fuss,” Uki growled.

“Oh look who’s talking now, putting your life in danger, just because you flopped your rite of passage! Now, doesn’t that sound like a fuss to you?” Tukku shot back.

“Shut it Tukku, _you_ wouldn’t understand,” Uki grimaced, pronouncing her words with noticeable haste.

“ _No one_ can understand you Uki, so let go of the prideful warrior act and come to your senses like a sensible human bein-”

The words died in his mouth, as he came to notice the sight of Uki’s bloodied spear and the wound in her leg, no larger than the sharp edge of Uki’s weapon.

“Spirits, Uki…,” Tukku muttered under his breath. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Something will fall for it, I know it. One trophy, that’s all I need,” Uki whispered, taking an alert stance with her spear. 

“Are you insane? Uki we’re going back right now-”

But just as Tukku was about to go on with his scolding, a wolf leapt from the snow-ridden darkness, lured in by the scent of Uki’s blood.

Tukku cried out in panic, closing his eyes and putting his arms up in a pathetic attempt to shield himself from the inevitable.

Uki grinned.

_SCHUNK_

Tukku fearfully opened his eyes.

The sight of the wolf’s dead, lying body greeted him, as well as his sister crouching beside it, who was in the process of cutting off its head with her hunting dagger.

“Uki…Uki,” Tukku whispered hastily, pulling and tugging his sister’s arm as he looked around. She did not budge.

Uki was far too entranced in her quest for redemption, unlike her cowering, socially indifferent brother, to notice the nearing sounds of shifting trots moving through the snow.

The steps, sniffs and growls drew near with every passing moment, but Uki still failed to notice, much to her brother’s infinite chagrin.

“Quit your whining, I’m almost done,” Uki responded brusquely, shaking off Tukku’s trembling grip.

Her honor was at stake and she was more than halfway done! Surely, her lazy excuse of a brother could wait a few more moments out in the cold.

“Uki!” Tukku pleaded as he tried to pull her once again, but Uki tossed the dagger away in frustration and shoved him aside.

“ _What_!”

The dozens of growls were now closer than ever, and with her obsessive concentration successfully broken, Uki’s eyes sunk in realization.

“You forgot the pack.”

Tukku and Uki ran, and the wolves followed.

The siblings could not make a turn back for the village, lest they try to pass through a hungry pack of vicious and vindictive wolves, so naturally, they did the next best thing.

Take their chances by going deeper into the ever-growing blizzard.

“What’s…wrong…with…you?” Tukku huffed as he sprinted more than he ever had in his entire life.

“I will become a huntress! I will regain father’s respect!” Uki shouted, tightening her grip on her hunting spear while she shot a defiant glare at her brother.

“Post…mortem…maybe!” Tukku gasped; his miniscule supply of adrenaline fading.

“You should have stayed like always! Least then only one of us would have-”

“Shut up, look! Shelter!” Tukku interrupted with rejuvenated vigor and speed, as he pointed at a cave entrance, no more than a couple of sprints away.

Uki stared at him with disbelief.

“We’ve got wolves right behind us, what’s a cave going to do? We’re dead!”

“Who cares? At least I’m not dying out in the snow!” Tukku replied nonchalantly and sped towards the cave, disregarding the heavy toll on his body, not helped whatsoever by his hasty, uncalculated steps.

“Wait!” Uki cried out, but it was too late.

Tukku fell just a few feet short of the entrance, grasping his sprained ankle and crying out with pain.

The wolf closest to Tukku seized the opportunity and pounced, baring its drooling fangs as it imagined the sweet taste of flesh, blood and bone in its maw.

Unluckily for the hungry beast, Uki had leapt just as quickly and intercepted it in midair.

_SHUNK_

The wolf fell dead to Uki’s spear, its blood painting the snow red. The rest of the pack stopped in its tracks, wary of Uki’s fearsome display and her intimidating snarl, almost matching those of the wolves themselves.

“…Oh spirits, thank you Uki,” Tukku mumbled in gratitude as he tried to pick himself up, only to unceremoniously fall back into the snow. His other ankle had sprained as well.

Uki however, paid no heed to her brother’s gratitude, nor his clumsiness, for she focused on the pack closing in, eyeing her as they would a lone, wounded bear.

A threat for sure, but even larger ones were common occurrences to the pack, and Uki would fall just as well, prey to their masterful, instinctual teamwork.

Uki grinned and readied her battle stance, welcoming the wolves in an almost taunting manner.

They complied in unison with snarls, barks and bared teeth and began to take tentative steps towards her. Uki tightened her grip on her spear with anticipation.

This was not what Uki had hoped for, but to die a warrior’s death, now that would do nicely. The world around her faded into nothingness as she focused and prepared for her final stand, Tukku’s incessant cries for help be damned.

_CRASH_

The lightning bolt struck between the two parties in the blink of an eye, pushing them on opposite directions, the wolves back towards the tundra and the humans to the inside of the cavern, leaving behind a modicum wall of fire in its wake.

Tukku groaned as he recovered from the impact on the cave’s rocky floor, but much to his surprise, a prickling feeling of warmth caressed his skin, easing the pain of his injuries.

For a moment, Tukku’s mind fell to the complacency of labelling the night’s events as nothing more than a vivid nightmare. He was still back home he thought, resting next to the fireplace without a worry in the world…

His sister’s bloodied shape lying right beside him put a quick end to that fantasy, as did the flaming orb floating above his open hand. The fact that his screams did not wake up Uki did not help matters either.

Fighting against his own panic, Tukku took in a deep breath and checked for Uki’s pulse with his free hand.

He sighed with relief, she was still alive, hurt and unconscious, but alive, and knowing her stubbornness and resilience, it would not take long for her to wake.

That just left the fire floating in his hand. Tukku knew not what to make of it, it was warm and comfortable sure, but never before had the stories of his people been farfetched enough to mention men manipulating fire without the aid of sticks and stones.

That was magical spirit business, not his!

Pushing aside the currently unsolvable mystery for later, Tukku ripped part of his own clothing and fashioned a gauze for his sister’s leg wound, she had much more all over just as he did due to the impact, but they were mostly superficial.

Besides, with the wall of fire guarding the entrance, they would have plenty of time and shelter to outlast the blizzard and recover. Even the wolves must have fled in fear by now.

Right in cue, the fire dissipated, consumed by the force of the falling snow. The growls and snarls returned soon after.

Tukku turned back, staring aghast at the approaching shapes of the wolf pack. He could not fight back with Uki’s spear; he had almost lost a finger during his first and last day of training, nor did he have the strength to drag his sister further into the caves.

“C’mon Uki, wake up!” He slapped her. No response. The wolves closed in.

Tukku had no weapons, strength or even a way to squirm himself out of this one, he had nothing. Uki was right, and now, they would both pay the price of his incompetence.

At least the wolves would tear him shreds next to a fire.

“Wait.”

The wolves had stopped right outside the cave entrance, eyeing the orb of fire in Tukku’s hands with utmost caution, as if witnessing a cautionary memory passed on by instinct itself.

Tukku fidgeted and composed himself; he had to take advantage of the situation somehow, for as long as the wolves fear would last.

The flame floated above his open palm, following his hand’s movements, as did the wary eyes of the entire pack.

_Alright what else can it do?_

As in cue to his thoughts, his desire to scare off the wolves materialized, changing the shape of his floating fire into a bear head, baring its terrifying, fiery fangs at the pack. The wolves whimpered and backed down.

_Sweet!_

But a quick howl from the alpha kept them from retreating, and simply began to slowly trot towards Tukku.

_Oh no…_

No tricks, Tukku had to act now.

Mimicking Uki’s prowess with the spear, he launched his fiery ursine head straight towards the entrance, spreading its flames throughout and successfully pushing the pack back.

Fire rarely lasts in stone however, let alone under a blizzard, and the wolves resumed their cautious approach shortly after the fire faded away.

_C’mon, c’mon I need more! I need more!_

But the flame would not reappear, and that was when Tukku remembered, he had not created it. He had instinctively taken part of the fire produced by the lightning strike as soon as the force of the blast had thrown him aside.

And now, he was defenseless, or at least, he thought himself to be.

The alpha growled and one of the lesser wolves ran towards Tukku and Uki.

Tukku tried to get ahold of Uki’s spear, but it was out of reach, and even then, he knew it to be a futile effort. He was himself incapable of using it, even with a pair of healthy ankles and a full week’s rest.

The wolf jumped. Death was a hair’s breadth away.

“NO!” Tukku shouted and raised his hands as he jumped between the leaping wolf and his unconscious sister, despite his ankle’s painful protests.

_BOOSH_

An orb of fire shot out of Tukku’s hands, which instantly consumed the wolf mid jump and threw back its charred corpse at the rest of the startled pack.

Tukku stared flabbergasted at his hands and the result of his unforeseen attack, before slowly picking himself up and raising them menacingly at the wolves. 

“Alright! Now that’s what I’m-”

_CRACK_

Tukku fell and roared in pain after taking a single step, courtesy of the jump he just performed.

The alpha, stupefied by the constant struggles of its prey, merely shared looks with the rest of its pack, and with a quick growl, it motioned its companions to go for the fallen humans, while taking proper distance from the charred remains of their former pack member.

Still not knowing how or why, Tukku began to shoot more orbs of fire in desperation, but the wolves bore no casualties. They easily dodged Tukku’s sloppy aim, not helped at all by his growing desperation and fatigue.

They were now mere steps away and Tukku saw his life flash before his eyes. All the complacency, all the failure, things he pretended to not care about, came back to haunt him in a moment of crushing introspection.

Uki’s words rang true once again, as did the words of his entire tribe, and his father’s as well. Suddenly, a sweltering heat built up inside of him. It had already been there since he first held the floating fire in his palm, but its intensity had been minute at best.

It grew and grew, bubbling not only with his discontent, rage and survival instincts, but most importantly, his desire to prove the entire tribe wrong.

The alpha howled. The pack charged together.

_BOOM_

Tukku released a burst of flame from his palms and mouth, encasing the horrified beasts in a wall of inescapable flame. There were no survivors.

The fires of the burnt remains quickly began to die out however. Noting this, Tukku crawled over to one the corpses and grabbed ahold its waning flames, producing a new orb for him to command.

He painfully made his way back to his sister and as he sat down, he increased the intensity of his fire, shielding them both from the blizzard’s bone-chilling winds. It was a far cry from the hut, but it would have to do for now.

Tukku found no sleep that night. He had to outlast the storm, he had to save Uki, but most importantly, he had to prove them all wrong. 

He stared at the blizzard outside with a smile, knowing it to be just a momentary distraction, a mere sleepless night.

He would be back home soon enough.


End file.
